When a child wakes up at night and cries, parents, especially young ones, worry that this could be a sign of illness. However, what they perceive as a cry of pain is often only a means of communication for the baby.
Crying baby
The main reasons for crying babies
A small child is not at all independent. His survival does not depend on himself. The muscles are unable to support the body, there is no coordination of movements, the baby can barely see. Crying is his survival tool.
If a child cries at night, adults immediately have a reflex of caring, meeting the needs of the baby, and relieving his troubles. Thus, the baby ensures its survival.
There are many reasons why a baby can cry and scream: from completely harmless to those associated with painful conditions.
Pathological factors
Factors associated with painful conditions can be natural, due to the age-related development of the baby, and may be the result of infections and pathologies:
- Teething. The most common reason for crying in a child from 4 to 6 months is when the time comes for the first teeth to come out;
Crying when teething
- Stomach colic. If the tummy hurts, the child sometimes wakes up abruptly and cries. He can bend his back, stretch his legs;
Important! The bad news is that there is little that can be done to radically alleviate infant colic. Good - after the third month of life, colic gradually fade away or disappear altogether.
- CNS pathologies. With neurological diseases, the child will be hysterical, it is very difficult to calm him down. An additional symptom may be convulsions; during wakefulness, the baby is lethargic and weak;
- Ear infections (otitis media). A child wakes up screaming, can shake, turn his head, as he is experiencing severe pain;
- Colds that cause nasal congestion. The nasal passages closed with mucus prevent the baby from breathing, he still does not know how to do it with his mouth;
- Urinary tract infections.
Physiological factors
Up to 4 months, a newborn can wake up, following his internal sensations (hunger, fear, cold, heat, etc.) much more strongly than external rhythms (day, night). Therefore, it is quite normal for him to wake up several times a night, crying is a signal to the parents.
Physiological causes of crying:
- Immaturity of the nervous system. The child confuses day and night;
- Often, the baby can cry in the evening before bedtime. This is due to sensory overload and, as a result, fatigue. While awake, the newborn is overwhelmed with stimuli that his nervous system is not yet able to process. The baby cries simply because it gets tired of the confusion and wants to sleep.
External causes
There are external factors that make the baby cry, removing the influence of which, you can calm him down:
- The child is hungry. This is usually the first thing mom thinks about. She is often right, but not always;
Baby is hungry
Important! To determine if a baby is crying from hunger, you need to pay attention to the previous signs: opening the mouth and smacking, trying to suck a finger. The infant will also twirl its head in search of the breast.
- Dirty diaper. Complaining crying from a baby may indicate that a wet or dirty diaper is annoying;
- Uncomfortable rest conditions. These include too high or low temperature in the children's room, insufficiently humid air, tight, uncomfortable clothes;
- Psychologists say that the child sometimes cries a lot at night due to the unstable emotional state of the mother. If she has mood swings, frequent tears, the inability to calmly interact with the newborn, then the baby, being very sensitive to this, cries from discomfort and lack of attention.
Mom's depression affects the baby
Normal sleep for babies up to a year
From birth until the baby reaches one year of age, his need for sleep undergoes significant changes:
- The newborn sleeps 18-20 hours a day with no preference between day and night. His sleep is interrupted only by a feeling of hunger every 2-3 hours;
- One month. Closer to one month, the child begins to interact more with the environment, but still sleeps in short cycles with a total duration of 16-18 hours;
- Two to three months. The child gradually acquires a circadian rhythm. The total need for sleep is reduced to 14-15 hours. The cycles of sleep at night become longer, as do the periods of daytime wakefulness;
- 4-6 months. The total need for sleep decreases slightly - 13-14 hours, it falls mainly at night, when the baby can sleep up to 6 hours in a row.
Important! At 5-6 months, nighttime awakenings and crying may become more common due to an increase in anxiety from separation from mom. This is normal and corresponds exactly to the phase of the baby's psychological development.
- 7-9 months. Almost all babies are able to sleep long at night, the daytime rest is reduced to 2 times. The total sleep duration is 12-14 hours. During this period, it is useful to finally get rid of the habit of night feeding;
- 12 months. By one year, the total need for sleep is reduced to 12 hours. Children sleep peacefully all night without interruption. Daytime rest is reduced to 1-2 times.
Parents' actions
If the mother can identify why the baby is crying and take appropriate action to calm it down, then don't worry. After all, this is the only way a baby can attract attention.
When to see a doctor
Consultation with a specialist is necessary only in case of severe crying, which is repeated more often. At the same time, there are no apparent reasons. Also, you should consult a doctor immediately if you have symptoms of neurological and infectious diseases.
Helping a baby when crying
The actions of parents should be aimed, first of all, at satisfying the obvious needs of the baby:
- If the baby is crying from hunger, you must give him a breast or a bottle;
Important! You should be careful not to overfeed the baby, because colic may begin, then it will be even more difficult to calm him down.
- A wet or sticky diaper does not give a child pleasure, and is also dangerous due to possible skin irritation and penetration of infection into the child's body. Even at night, you need to get up to the baby and change the diaper;
- When a baby has colic, it often helps if the mother presses the baby to her tummy, calmly stroking it. In addition, you can give your baby dill water or fennel tea between feedings during the day. These drugs can alleviate the suffering of a child;
Mom hugged the baby
- Sometimes crying is the first sign of an illness. It is necessary to check whether the baby has a temperature, whether the nose is clogged with mucus, and pay attention to other symptoms;
- Children are very sensitive to temperature. They quickly freeze, quickly overheat, but cannot hide themselves or remove the blanket. If the baby has poor restless sleep, you need to touch the baby's neck. It should be dry and warm, not hot, damp or cold. If necessary, cover the baby or remove one layer of clothing;
- If a mother gets up at night with her baby, the main rule is not to speak loudly with the baby, not to play with him, not to turn on a bright light so as not to wake him up completely. Then the baby may cry from the fact that it is difficult for him to fall asleep;
Calming the child
- When a child cries from a feeling of loneliness and separation from his mother, you need to come up and stroke him. If this does not help, you can even get up and walk around the room with the baby, calming him down in a low voice. When the baby falls asleep, put him back in the crib;
- It is necessary to reduce the number of stimuli for the baby, especially before bedtime: visiting guests, loud conversations and music, etc.;
- You should not often cry in front of the baby, as well as quarrel and sort things out.
Important! The main thing that parents should not do is to vent their anger, yell at the baby and shake him. Excessive shaking can cause damage to the baby's brain and retina.
What Dr. Komarovsky advises
Doctor E. Komarovsky believes that psycho-emotional overload of the child or lack of calcium in the body is a common cause of poor sleep, especially when the bones begin to grow rapidly. He gives advice not to overload babies with stimuli and create a favorable psycho-emotional atmosphere in the house.
When a baby cries, the first thing parents need to do is make sure all of their needs are met. If crying is caused by serious pathological reasons, you need to see a doctor.
